Human Capital Composition and Economic Growth at a Regional Level

With this paper we build a two-region model where both innovation and imitation are performed. In particular imitation takes the form of technological spillovers that lagging regions may exploit given certain human capital conditions. We show how the high skill content of each region’s workforce (rather than the average human capital stock) is crucial to determine convergence towards the income level of the leader region and to exploit the technological spillovers coming from the frontier. The same applies to bureaucratic/institutional quality which are conductive to higher growth in the long run. We test successfully our theoretical result over Spanish regions for the period between 1960 and 1997. We exploit system GMM estimators which allow us to correctly deal with endogeneity problems and small sample bias.

The Importance of Semantics: Visual World Studies on Drawing Inferences and Resolving Anaphors

The present thesis investigated the importance of semantics in generating inferences during discourse processing. Three aspects of semantics, gender stereotypes, implicit causality information and proto-role properties, were used to investigate whether semantics is activated elaboratively during discourse comprehension and what its relative importance is in backward inferencing compared to discourse/structural cues. Visual world eye-tracking studies revealed that semantics plays an important role in both backward and forward inferencing: Gender stereotypes and implicit causality information is activated elaboratively during online discourse comprehension. Moreover, gender stereotypes, implicit causality and proto-role properties of verbs are all used in backward inferencing. Importantly, the studies demonstrated that semantic cues are weighed against discourse/structural cues. When the structural cues consist of a combination of cues that have been independently shown to be important in backward inferencing, semantic effects may be masked, whereas when the structural cues consist of a combination of fewer prominent cues, semantics can have an earlier effect than structural factors in pronoun resolution. In addition, the type of inference matters, too: During anaphoric inferencing semantics has a prominent role, while discourse/structural salience attains more prominence during non-anaphoric inferencing. Finally, semantics exhibits a strong role in inviting new inferences to revise earlier made inferences even in the case the additional inference is not needed to establish coherence in discourse. The findings are generally in line with the Mental Model approaches. Two extended model versions are presented that incorporate the current findings into the earlier literature. These models allow both forward and backward inferencing to occur at any given moment during the course of processing; they also allow semantic and discourse/structural cues to contribute to both of these processes. However, while the Mental Model 1 does not assume interactions between semantic and discourse/structural factors in forward inferencing, the Mental Model 2 does assume such a link.

Fluxos de óxido nitroso na interface ar-mar na Baía de Guanabara

In Surface water concentrations of N2O were measured at 37 stations in Guanabara Bay and fluxes estimated across the air-sea interface. Concentrations averaged 8.2 ± 2.2 nmol L-1 and 90% of the stations showed supersaturation averaging 33%. N2O fluxes were estimated using a two-film model which is given by the product of the concentration difference across the film and the gas transfer coefficient (k w). Two parametrizations of k w were used which provided average fluxes of 0.3 and 3.0 µg N m-2 h-1. Flux measurements using floating chambers (not reported here) seem to agree with the upper limit of these estimates.

EFEITO DOS TRATAMENTOS SUPERFICIAIS NAS PROPRIEDADES DO BAGAÇO DA FIBRA DE PIAÇAVA Attalea funifera Martius

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of surface treatment on the properties of waste piassava fiber with the goal of aggregating additional business value. The fiber surface was subjected to four different treatments. In the present work, it was found that washing the fibers with water partially removed impurities from the surface rendering it rougher. Alkaline treatment removed impurities from the surface, hemicellulose and lignin, improving the flexibility of the fibers. Increasing the concentration of washing agents, times and temperature of treatment promoted intense defibrillation on the fiber surface, reducing its strength.

Comparison of diffusion models for description of osmotic dehydration of radish slices dipped in brine

ABSTRACT This paper aims at describing the osmotic dehydration of radish cut into cylindrical pieces, using one- and two-dimensional analytical solutions of diffusion equation with boundary conditions of the first and third kind. These solutions were coupled with an optimizer to determine the process parameters, using experimental data. Three models were proposed to describe the osmotic dehydration of radish slices in brine at low temperature. The two-dimensional model with boundary condition of the third kind well described the kinetics of mass transfers, and it enabled prediction of moisture and solid distributions at any given time.

Testing Futures Market Efficiency and Optimal Hedge Ratio Estimation: Evidence from Futures and Options on RTS

This study investigates futures market efficiency and optimal hedge ratio estimation. First, cointegration between spot and futures prices is studied using Johansen method, with two different model specifications. If prices are found cointegrated, restrictions on cointegrating vector and adjustment coefficients are imposed, to account for unbiasedness, weak exogeneity and prediction hypothesis. Second, optimal hedge ratios are estimated using static OLS, and time-varying DVEC and CCC models. In-sample and out-of-sample results for one, two and five period ahead are reported. The futures used in thesis are RTS index, EUR/RUB exchange rate and Brent oil, traded in Futures and options on RTS.(FORTS) For in-sample period, data points were acquired from start of trading of each futures contract, RTS index from August 2005, EUR/RUB exchange rate March 2009 and Brent oil October 2008, lasting till end of May 2011. Out-of-sample period covers start of June 2011, till end of December 2011. Our results indicate that all three asset pairs, spot and futures, are cointegrated. We found RTS index futures to be unbiased predictor of spot price, mixed evidence for exchange rate, and for Brent oil futures unbiasedness was not supported. Weak exogeneity results for all pairs indicated spot price to lead in price discovery process. Prediction hypothesis, unbiasedness and weak exogeneity of futures, was rejected for all asset pairs. Variance reduction results varied between assets, in-sample in range of 40-85 percent and out-of sample in range of 40-96 percent. Differences between models were found small, except for Brent oil in which OLS clearly dominated. Out-of-sample results indicated exceptionally high variance reduction for RTS index, approximately 95 percent.

Konkurssin ennustaminen ja makrotaloudelliset muuttujat: rakennusalan pk-yritykset

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää kannattaako makrotaloudellisia muuttujia käyttää tunnuslukujen lisäksi yrityksen konkurssin ennustamisessa. Perinteiset konkurssinennustamismallit hyödyntävät pelkästään tilinpäätöksestä saatavia tunnuslukuja eivätkä huomioi yrityksen toimintaympäristöä ja sen muutoksia. Aiemmissa tutkimuksissa makrotaloudellisilla muuttujilla on pystytty parantamaan perinteisiä ennustamismalleja. Tutkimus toteutetaan luomalla kolme erilaista konkurssinennustamismallia logistista regressioanalyysiä hyödyntäen ja vertailemalla niiden paremmuutta. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että rakennusalan pk-yritysten konkursseja pystytään ennustamaan kolmen tunnusluvun mallilla. Taloudellisen ajanjakson, jolta yrityksen tiedot ovat peräisin, huomioiminen ei tuo malliin lisäarvoa eikä paranna ennustamiskykyä merkittävästi.

Konkurssin ennustaminen ja makrotaloudelliset muuttujat: rakennusalan pk-yritykset

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää kannattaako makrotaloudellisia muuttujia käyttää tunnuslukujen lisäksi yrityksen konkurssin ennustamisessa. Perinteiset konkurssinennustamismallit hyödyntävät pelkästään tilinpäätöksestä saatavia tunnuslukuja eivätkä huomioi yrityksen toimintaympäristöä ja sen muutoksia. Aiemmissa tutkimuksissa makrotaloudellisilla muuttujilla on pystytty parantamaan perinteisiä ennustamismalleja. Tutkimus toteutetaan luomalla kolme erilaista konkurssinennustamismallia logistista regressioanalyysiä hyödyntäen ja vertailemalla niiden paremmuutta. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että rakennusalan pk-yritysten konkursseja pystytään ennustamaan kolmen tunnusluvun mallilla. Taloudellisen ajanjakson, jolta yrityksen tiedot ovat peräisin, huomioiminen ei tuo malliin lisäarvoa eikä paranna ennustamiskykyä merkittävästi.

IT Investment Portfolio Management Over Joint Ventures: Case Study in a Multinational Oil & Gas Company

With information technology (IT) playing an increasing important role in driving the business, the value of IT investment is often challenged because not all of those investment decisions are made in a reasonable way or aligned with business strategies. IT investment portfolio management (PfM) is an effective way to prioritize and select the right IT projects to invest in, by taking all the project proposals into consideration as a whole, based on their business value, risks, costs, and interrelationships. There are different decision models to prioritise projects, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is one of the most commonly-used methods and is discussed in this master thesis. At the same time, there are IT projects on different levels for a multinational company, from global to local. For instance, many of them are probably proposed by joint ventures on local level. In the oil & gas industry, joint ventures are often formed especially in the area of the upstream (exploration & production). How to involve those projects into the IT investment PfM approach of the parent company is a challenge, because the parent company cannot make the decisions on its own. It needs to prioritize all projects in an adequate way, communicate with JVs and influence them. Also, different control levels on JVs need to be considered. This paper hence attempts to introduce a tailored approach of IT investment PfM for a multinational oil & gas company to address the issues around JVs.

Fluid dynamic modelling and simulation of circulating fluidized bed reactors: importance of the interface turbulence transfer

The main objective of this work is to analyze the importance of the gas-solid interface transfer of the kinetic energy of the turbulent motion on the accuracy of prediction of the fluid dynamic of Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) reactors. CFB reactors are used in a variety of industrial applications related to combustion, incineration and catalytic cracking. In this work a two-dimensional fluid dynamic model for gas-particle flow has been used to compute the porosity, the pressure, and the velocity fields of both phases in 2-D axisymmetrical cylindrical co-ordinates. The fluid dynamic model is based on the two fluid model approach in which both phases are considered to be continuous and fully interpenetrating. CFB processes are essentially turbulent. The model of effective stress on each phase is that of a Newtonian fluid, where the effective gas viscosity was calculated from the standard k-epsilon turbulence model and the transport coefficients of the particulate phase were calculated from the kinetic theory of granular flow (KTGF). This work shows that the turbulence transfer between the phases is very important for a better representation of the fluid dynamics of CFB reactors, especially for systems with internal recirculation and high gradients of particle concentration. Two systems with different characteristics were analyzed. The results were compared with experimental data available in the literature. The results were obtained by using a computer code developed by the authors. The finite volume method with collocated grid, the hybrid interpolation scheme, the false time step strategy and SIMPLEC (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure Linked Equations - Consistent) algorithm were used to obtain the numerical solution.

Scientific creativity and diversity of physical work environment: framework development

The aim of this research was to develop a framework to analyze how physical environment influences scientific creativity. Due to the relative novelty of this topic, there is still a gap in the unified method to study connection between physical environment and creativity. Therefore, in order to study this issue deeply, the qualitative method was used (interviews and qualitative questionnaire). Scientists (PhD students and senior researchers) of Graduate School of Management were interviewed to build the model and one expert interview was conducted to assess its validity. The model highlights several dimensions via which physical environment can influence scientific creativity: Comfort, Instruments and Diversity. Comfort and Instruments are considered to be related mostly to productivity, an initial requirement for creativity, while Diversity is the factor responsible for supporting all the stages of scientific creative process. Thus, creative physical environment is not one place by its nature, but an aggregative phenomenon. Due to two levels of analysis, the model is named the two-level model of creative physical environment.

Elinkaarihankkeen rakennusliikeriskit

Tiivistelmä: Elinkaaren palvelumallit ovat suosittuja julkisten palveluiden hankintamuotoja Iso-Britanniassa. PPP–malli on yksi monista julkisten palvelujen kumppanuusmalleista, josta on tullut joissakin kunnissa yhä suositumpi hankintamalli myös Suomessa. Tämä on seurausta kuntien tiukasta taloustilanteesta, jossa PPP–hankkeen katsotaan mahdollistavan julkisen sektorin investoinnit joutumatta leikkaamaan muita pakollisia hankintoja. Kuitenkin koko elinkaaren kattavat palvelutarjonnan hankintamallit ovat vielä melko uusia malleja ja meillä on tarve löytää toimivia sopimusmalleja ja käytäntöjä, jotta hankkeista saadaan rakennusliikettä kiinnostavia liiketoimintamalleja. Ulkomailla elinkaarihankkeista on tehty monia tutkimuksia ja konsultit ovat kääntäneet niitä omiin tarkoituksiinsa sopiviksi. Kuitenkin Suomen lainsäädäntö on erilainen julkisten palveluiden tuottamisessa, erityisesti lakisääteisissä terveydenhuoltopalveluissa, vesi- ja jätevesihuollossa, vankeinhoidossa, ja niin edelleen. Tästä näkökulmasta ulkomailla tehdyt tutkimukset eivät sellaisenaan sovi Suomeen käytettäviksi. Esimerkiksi tutkimuksissa esitetään, että elinkaarihankkeet tuottavat pitkän aikavälin kassavirtaan, mutta tämä etu koskee vain rahoittaja ja kiinteistöpalvelu yrityksiä - ei rakennusyritystä. Tutkimuksissa mainitaan myös muista elinkaarihankkeiden mahdollisuuksista, jotka jäävät kuitenkin rakennusliikkeen näkökulmasta epäselviksi. Perinteisiin rakennuttamisen malleihin verrattuna elinkaarihankkeiden sopimusmenettelyt ovat monimutkaisempia sekä aikaa vievempiä ja sopijaosapuolten yhteistyö elinkaarihankkeissa on välttämätöntä. Käytännössä elinkaarihankkeiden riskienjako nähdään julkisen sektorin ja yksityisen sektorin välillä yksipuoliseksi. Jotta elinkaarimalli yleistyisi Suomessa, niin elinkaarisopimuksen riskienjaosta on tehtävä tasapuolinen ja käyttäjä pitää saada myös riskejä kantamaan. Tässä työssä keskitytään arvioimaan elinkaarimallien keskeisiä menestystekijöitä ja riskitekijöitä ja löytää mahdollisia tapoja tehdä hankintaprosessista helppoa ja sujuvaa. Samalla yritetään selvittää, miten elinkaarihankkeesta saadaan rakennusliikkeen kannalta menestyvää liiketoimintaa. Johtopäätökset perustuvat aikaisempiin tutkimuksiin ja empiiriseen tapaustutkimukseen. Työssä arvioidaan niitä seikkoja, jotka vaikuttavat yksityisen sektorin tarjouspäätökseen. Arvioinnissa erotetaan toisistaan kolme erillistä riskitekijää; tarjouksen tekemisen riskit, rakennushankkeen riskit ja elinkaaren aikaiset riskit. Työssä todetaan, että aikaisemmat tutkimukset ovat riittämättömiä rakennusliikkeen riskien arvioimiseen.

Potential and Challenges of Analog Reconfigurable Computation in Modern and Future CMOS

In this work, the feasibility of the floating-gate technology in analog computing platforms in a scaled down general-purpose CMOS technology is considered. When the technology is scaled down the performance of analog circuits tends to get worse because the process parameters are optimized for digital transistors and the scaling involves the reduction of supply voltages. Generally, the challenge in analog circuit design is that all salient design metrics such as power, area, bandwidth and accuracy are interrelated. Furthermore, poor flexibility, i.e. lack of reconfigurability, the reuse of IP etc., can be considered the most severe weakness of analog hardware. On this account, digital calibration schemes are often required for improved performance or yield enhancement, whereas high flexibility/reconfigurability can not be easily achieved. Here, it is discussed whether it is possible to work around these obstacles by using floating-gate transistors (FGTs), and analyze problems associated with the practical implementation. FGT technology is attractive because it is electrically programmable and also features a charge-based built-in non-volatile memory. Apart from being ideal for canceling the circuit non-idealities due to process variations, the FGTs can also be used as computational or adaptive elements in analog circuits. The nominal gate oxide thickness in the deep sub-micron (DSM) processes is too thin to support robust charge retention and consequently the FGT becomes leaky. In principle, non-leaky FGTs can be implemented in a scaled down process without any special masks by using “double”-oxide transistors intended for providing devices that operate with higher supply voltages than general purpose devices. However, in practice the technology scaling poses several challenges which are addressed in this thesis. To provide a sufficiently wide-ranging survey, six prototype chips with varying complexity were implemented in four different DSM process nodes and investigated from this perspective. The focus is on non-leaky FGTs, but the presented autozeroing floating-gate amplifier (AFGA) demonstrates that leaky FGTs may also find a use. The simplest test structures contain only a few transistors, whereas the most complex experimental chip is an implementation of a spiking neural network (SNN) which comprises thousands of active and passive devices. More precisely, it is a fully connected (256 FGT synapses) two-layer spiking neural network (SNN), where the adaptive properties of FGT are taken advantage of. A compact realization of Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP) within the SNN is one of the key contributions of this thesis. Finally, the considerations in this thesis extend beyond CMOS to emerging nanodevices. To this end, one promising emerging nanoscale circuit element - memristor - is reviewed and its applicability for analog processing is considered. Furthermore, it is discussed how the FGT technology can be used to prototype computation paradigms compatible with these emerging two-terminal nanoscale devices in a mature and widely available CMOS technology.

Air pollution and neonatal deaths in São Paulo, Brazil

Air pollution has been associated with health effects on different age groups. The present study was designed to assess the impact of daily changes in air pollutants (NO2, SO2, CO, O3, and particle matter (PM10)) on total number of daily neonatal deaths (those that occur between the first and the 28th days of life) in São Paulo, from January 1998 to December 2000, since adverse outcomes such as neonatal deaths associated with air pollution in Brazil have not been evaluated before. Generalized additive Poisson regression models were used and nonparametric smooth functions (loess) were adopted to control long-term trend, temperature, humidity, and short-term trends. A linear term was used for holidays. The association between air pollutants and neonatal deaths showed a short time lag. Interquartile range increases in PM10 (23.3 µg/m³) and SO2 (9.2 µg/m³) were associated with increases of 4% (95% CI, 2-6) and 6% (95% CI, 4-8), respectively. Instead of adopting a two-pollutant model we created an index to represent PM10 and SO2 effects. For an interquartile range increase in the index an increase of 6.3% (95% CI, 6.1-6.5) in neonatal deaths was observed. These results agree with previous studies performed by our group showing the deleterious effects of air pollutants during the perinatal period. The method reported here represents an alternative approach to analyze the relationship between highly correlated pollutants and public health problems, reinforcing the idea of the synergic effects of air pollutants in public health.

Molecular and cellular pathogenesis of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is one of the most common human life-threatening monogenic disorders. The disease is characterized by bilateral, progressive renal cystogenesis and cyst and kidney enlargement, often leading to end-stage renal disease, and may include extrarenal manifestations. ADPKD is caused by mutation in one of two genes, PKD1 and PKD2, which encode polycystin-1 (PC1) and polycystin-2 (PC2), respectively. PC2 is a non-selective cation channel permeable to Ca2+, while PC1 is thought to function as a membrane receptor. The cyst cell phenotype includes increased proliferation and apoptosis, dedifferentiation, defective planar polarity, and a secretory pattern associated with extracellular matrix remodeling. The two-hit model for cyst formation has been recently extended by the demonstration that early gene inactivation leads to rapid and diffuse development of renal cysts, while inactivation in adult life is followed by focal and late cyst formation. Renal ischemia/reperfusion, however, can function as a third hit, triggering rapid cyst development in kidneys with Pkd1 inactivation induced in adult life. The PC1-PC2 complex behaves as a sensor in the primary cilium, mediating signal transduction via Ca2+ signaling. The intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis is impaired in ADPKD, being apparently responsible for the cAMP accumulation and abnormal cell proliferative response to cAMP. Activated mammalian target for rapamycin (mTOR) and cell cycle dysregulation are also significant features of PKD. Based on the identification of pathways altered in PKD, a large number of preclinical studies have been performed and are underway, providing a basis for clinical trials in ADPKD and helping the design of future trials.